Who and where are young people in the Population?

33.4 35.% 9

The Tanzania National Youth Policy defines young people as persons aged between 15 35 years. This definition is broader than that by the United Nations, which is 15-24 years. The policy definition is in-line with 1 the provisions of the African Youth Charter (2006). Young people aged 15 35 years make up 34.7% of the total population in Tanzania as per the 2012 national census. Children and young people between 0 and 17 years make up 50.1% of the population, making Tanzania a country with one of the youngest populations on the African continent.
The proportion of youth in the population has not changed significantly since 1988 in the 15 24yrs age bracket. For the 15 35yrs age group, it has only changed by 0.9% since the 2002 census.
35.6
%

Population Overview
Tanzania has over 45 million people, with an annual growth rate of 2.7% in 2012, which is a 0.2% decrease from 2002 when it was 2.9%. The working age population (15 64) is at 52.2%. A large percent of Tanzanians still live in rural areas (70.4%) compared to those in urban areas (29.4%). At regional level, Dar es Salaam has the highest working population at 66% and the largest share of young people (46.8%). Simiyu has the second lowest percentage of young people (30.9 %) and the lowest working population 45.5%.
Why a Fact Sheet? While information and data on the state of young people can be patched from different sources, the need for a deliberate analysis on social and economic dynamics around young people in the country is a critical one. What the data demonstrates is that Tanzania, like much of the continent, is experiencing a youth bulge and if the right policies are in place, can convert on demographic dividends in the coming decades. UNA Tanzania is working to address this information gap on young people in the country and will be sharing more analysis in the coming weeks on young people and socio-economic development in Tanzania.

Youth population between 15 - 24yrs between 1988 to 2012

19.6 19.1
% %

34.6
%

19.1
%

2002 1988 2002 2012

2012

Youth population between 15 - 35yrs between 2002 to 2012

What is UNA Tanzania?

TANZANIA

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The United Nations Association (UNA) of Tanzania was registered in 1964. Our work is devoted entirely to the support of the "purposes and principles of the United Nations in the country and world.